This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Supply Chain Awards, a milestone that not only highlights how the event itself has evolved, but also reflects the remarkable transformation the global supply chain community has undergone over the past two decades. PMI has actively contributed to shaping these awards for more than ten years.
On November 11, 2025 in Frankfurt, one message became unmistakably clear: future-proof supply chains emerge where vision, courage, perseverance, and joint commitment come together. Two winners stood out in particular: Audi, receiving the Supply Chain Management Award, and IFCO, winning the Smart Solution Award. Both companies presented solutions that impressively demonstrate the depth and impact that true transformation can achieve.
Audi: Scaling Sustainability – Act4Impact as a Global Transformation Model
With its Act4Impact program, Audi introduced an industry-first concept that elevates sustainability in global supply chains from a “nice-to-have” to a systematic and scalable practice.
Key challenges addressed by Audi
- Highly complex global supply chains with significant leverage
- Varying sustainability maturity levels across 12,400 direct suppliers in 62 countries
- The need to embed sustainability in a structured, measurable, and long-term manner
The Act4Impact Playbook
Audi presented a modular transformation playbook designed to empower suppliers worldwide to initiate their own sustainability initiatives – clearly structured around the pillars Environment, People, and Innovation.
The playbook includes:
- Step-by-step guides
- Canvas tools
- Ideation methods
- Scalable implementation modules
The overall goal: “From social compliance to real impact” – shifting away from simply checking boxes towards measurable, value-driven improvements across the entire supply chain.
Audi’s approach demonstrates how responsibility can be translated into concrete, globally scalable action – a key reason why the company won this year’s Supply Chain Management Award.
IFCO: Tracking as a Service (TaaS) – IoT-Driven Transformation in the Pooling Business
IFCO impressed the jury with a radically data-driven evolution of its business model.
Managing more than 400 million reusable packaging containers, IFCO already operates the world’s largest pool of reusable transport assets – and is now transforming it into the largest IoT-enabled asset fleet in the industry.
Starting point
- Need for near real-time visibility across the entire pooling cycle
- Traditional tracking solutions: too costly, too complex, not scalable
- The challenge of capturing movement data globally in an efficient and affordable way
The solution: Tracking as a Service (TaaS)
IFCO developed its own IoT ecosystem featuring:
- BLE and GPS sensor technology
- A global mesh network
- Cloud connectivity via 4G/WiFi
- Platform and API access to all movement data
This end-to-end visibility allows IFCO to monitor every step of the cycle – from producers to logistics to washing centers – in real time.
The result: greater efficiency, lower losses, improved asset utilization, and a meaningful contribution to sustainability and resource optimization.
The Smart Solution Award jury recognized the compelling combination of technological innovation, practical industry expertise, and large-scale scalability.
What Unites Both Winners: Transformation Is Driven by People – and by Capability Building
Audi and IFCO both show that successful transformation is not achieved through technology alone. It emerges when teams:
- pursue a clear vision of the future,
- boldly explore new approaches,
- use challenges as a starting point for innovation,
- and possess the competencies needed to implement meaningful, lasting change.
For the broader supply chain community, this sends a strong message: transformation is not a one-off initiative – it is a continuous learning and development journey.
The Role of Capability Building & Education: What the Industry Needs Now
As a learning and development institute, PMI sees daily how strongly knowledge, skills, and mindset influence the success of transformation initiatives.
The depth of the solutions presented at this year’s awards highlights the importance of empowering leaders and teams in areas such as:
- digital transformation
- end-to-end process understanding
- sustainability strategy
- change management
- data-driven decision-making
With programs such as APICS CTSC – Certified in Transformation in Supply Chain, we support companies in developing transformation as a core strategic capability.
Conclusion: 20 Years of Supply Chain Awards – and the Next 20 Begin Now
This anniversary event in Frankfurt showed how far the industry has come – and how much opportunity still lies ahead.
Audi and IFCO stand as strong examples of a movement driven by courage, determination, and professional excellence.
Transformation succeeds when vision and capability come together – and when, as a community, we commit to taking responsibility for shaping the future of supply chains.
